AN: Welcome to To Get to Him. This takes place several months before the start of Shippuden. I'll be posting on Fridays. Please review and let me know what you think :)

My dearest Hinata,

All is well in Suna. Our village has been prosperous as of late. I hope you will soon be able to come see it. Suna is very different from Konoha, but it is equally as beautiful. When we are finally able to be together in my homeland, I want to show you the best place to watch a desert sunset. It is one of the most beautiful sights in the world, but not as beautiful as you. I still have trouble expressing my emotions through words, but I learning how to express them through actions. When I next see you, I will leave you no doubt of my feelings.

Until then,

Your Gaara

Hinata held the letter to her chest, blushing madly. How she longed to be holding her Gaara at that very moment. She imagined him beside her, hearing his voice as she read his letter. Soon, she would go to Suna and be reunited with her beloved.

She thought back on the strange beginning of their courtship.

Three Months Earlier

Tsunade-sama had called Hinata to her office. The Hokage's message had told her that she was to be an escort to a foreign dignitary, but had failed to mention who it was or where they were from.

'I guess I'll find out soon,' Hinata had thought as she approached the Hokage's office. Inside the room sat Tsunade and her assistant, Shizune, as well as a foreign Kage whose face she couldn't see.

"Ah, Hinata, right on time. This is Sunakagure's new Kazekage. I want you to show him around and be his guide while he's here. I believe you've already met once or twice."

The Kazekage turned around and revealed the face of a familiar redhead.

"G-Gaara-kun! I-I mean Gaara-s-sama."

Gaara gave a slight smile in greeting.

Hinata blushed as she took note of how handsome the young man had become.

"Go take our guest to his rooms and then take him to get something to eat. It's a long journey from Suna."

Hinata nodded. "R-right this way, Kazekage-sama."

The shy Kunoichi lead the redheaded Kazekage through the Hokage tower until they reached the area dedicated to foreign dignitaries. There were four sets of rooms; each one dedicated to the four other main shinobi nations. Hinata opened the door with the symbol for the Wind Country on it.

"T-this will be your room, G-gaara-sama. T-there are rooms downstairs for the rest of your traveling party. I-I hope everything is satisfactory."

"Hn," Gaara said with a nod. He looked out of the window at Konoha, deep in thought.

Hinata stood there twiddling her fingers nervously. "W-whenever you're ready, I can take you somewhere for lunch. W-would you like to change first?"

"Yes, I'll just be a minute, Hinata-san."

Hinata nodded and waited outside of the door. When Gaara emerged from the room, he was dressed in a maroon trench coat and black pants. His signature gourd was strapped to his back.

"I-is there any place in particular you would like to go? Or anyone you would like to see?"

Gaara thought for a moment. "Uzumaki Naruto. I would like to see him."

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata blushed at the mention of her long time crush. "I-I'm sorry, Gaara-sama, but Naruto-kun is away right now. H-he's been training with Jiraya-sama for the last two years."

Gaara looked slightly disappointed. "That's too bad. I would have liked to see him again."

"Y-you really like Naruto-kun, don't you, Gaara-sama."

Gaara nodded. "I owe him my life. When he beat me during the Chunin exams two years ago, he set my life on the right path. It is because of him that I am who I am today. For this reason, Suna will always be Konoha's ally as long as I am Kazekage."

Hinata smiled. She knew the effect the blond shinobi had on people.

"W-we never spent much time together, but e-even so, I saw the change in you. T-to be perfectly honest, I was sort of scared after seeing you fight during the second part of the exams. One of my teammates even warned me to give up if I were to face you during the preliminaries."

He looked slightly pained by her words. "That was wise of him. I was truly ruthless then. You probably would have been killed."

"I-I can tell you've changed a lot though. Y-You came to help bring back Sasuke-kun. Y-You saved Lee-kun's life. And now, you've become Kazekage. N-Naruto-kun will probably be jealous of you when he finds out that you became Kazekage before he became Hokage."

Gaara smiled slightly at the thought of his friend's jealousy.

"H-Hey! I have an idea. W-Why don't we honor Naruto-kun by eating at his favorite restaurant. H-He might not be here to eat with us, but by being there it will be like Naruto-kun is with us."

Gaara nodded at the idea and followed Hinata to Naruto's favorite ramen spot.

"Welcome, Hinata-chan!" the chef's daughter greeted her. "Who's this young fellow you've brought with you? Your boyfriend?"

Hinata blushed madly. "N-No, no! T-T-This is G-Gaara-s-sama! H-He's the Kazekage of Suna. I-I'm showing him around while he's visiting."

"Oh! A Kage! And you've chosen our fine establishment to show him where to get Konoha's finest ramen! Smart girl!"

"H-He's also a friend of Naruto-kun. W-we decided to come here since it's Naruto-kun's favorite spot."

"Well in that case, how about Naruto-kun's usual?" the chef suggested.

Gaara and Hinata both accepted the idea. In moments, they were eating Naruto's favorite ramen; both wishing the blond shinobi was with them.

The meal was mostly silent, due to Hinata's shyness and the Kazekage's lack of social skills, but it was still enjoyable.

After the meal, Hinata brought Gaara back to the Hokage tower, and they parted ways for the evening.

"G-Good night, Gaara-sama. I hope you sleep well."

"I don't sleep."

Hinata was taken back by his words. "W-Well th-then, I hope you enjoy…wh-whatever it is that you do for the rest of the evening."

Gaara nodded. "Good night, Hinata-san. I shall see you tomorrow for breakfast."

Later that night, Hinata found herself unable to sleep. She kept thinking about the redheaded Kazekage and his insomnia.

'I wonder why he doesn't sleep,' she found herself thinking. 'Maybe I can ask him tomorrow.'

After an hour of tossing and turning, Hinata decided to take a look around the village with her Byakugan. She saw many things this way, but she focused her incredible vision on the Hokage tower, looking for Gaara. She noticed he wasn't in his room, but was instead on the roof.

'What's he doing up there?' she thought to herself.

She decided she shouldn't spy on him anymore than she already had and deactivated her Byakugan. It was another hour before the dark haired kunoichi fell asleep. When she did, she was still thinking about the visiting Kage.

"G-Good morning, Gaara-sama," Hinata greeted the Kazekage the next morning. "D-Did you have a good evening?"

The redhead shrugged. "It was fine."

Hinata bit her lip and twiddled her fingers. She wanted to bring up what she'd seen the previous night, but was unsure how to bring it up.

"Something is bothering you. What is it?"

She blushed. "Uh…w-well…I-I-I was having d-difficulty sleeping last night, s-so I was looking around with my B-Byakugan. I-I saw you on the roof, a-and I was curious. W-What were you doing on the roof?"

"I often find myself watching the sky at night. I do not sleep because of the demon sealed inside of me. In Suna, I keep watch over the village at night. It is merely a habit to be on the roof at night."

'That explains the dark rings around his eyes,' thought Hinata.

"W-Would you like company sometime?"

Gaara seemed surprised at her offer, but he nodded. "That would be appreciated. I've been avoided by people for most of my life."

"B-Because of the demon inside of you."

Gaara nodded solemnly.

"T-That's not fair!" Hinata stated, defending him. "I-It's not your fault that it's inside of you. W-Why did they do that to you?"

Gaara smiled sadly. "It is very kind of you to defend me, Hinata-san, but I was very unstable as a child. As I grew…well, you saw how I was when we first met at the Chunin exams. I do not blame them for avoiding me like the monster I was."

"I-I didn't think you were a monster! Y-Yes, I was scared, but I never thought of you as a monster. P-P-Please don't speak so poorly of yourself."

Gaara looked shocked. Hinata smiled at him, a blush present on her cheeks.

"Come on," she said, "I'll show you my favorite place to get breakfast!"

The stunned Kazekage followed the leaf Kunoichi out of the Hokage tower. Hinata couldn't help but notice how cute the redhead looked when he was so shocked.

Gaara and Hinata parted ways after breakfast so he could attend a meeting with the Hokage. The meeting was expected to go through lunch, so Hinata told him she'd see him for dinner.

"Yo! Hinata!"

"Hi Kiba-kun!"

"I've seen you hanging around that redhead guy from the sand village the last couple of days. What gives? You two dating or something? What was his name? Goora? Gaaro?"

"I-I-It's nothing like that, K-K-Kiba-kun! I-I-I'm j-j-just G-Gaara-s-sama's guide while he's in K-Konoha."

" 'Gaara-sama' huh?"

"Y-Yes, he's the Kazekage now."

"Really? No way! If you told me that when we all first met, I wouldn't 've believed you. Jeez! Remember how freaky that guy used to be? He's still not someone I'd wanna mess with."

"P-Please don't talk about Gaara-sama like that, Kiba-kun. H-He's really a very kind person."

"Huh? What are you getting so flustered about, Hinata?"

"N-N-N-Nothing!"

"Don't tell me you're hung up on this guy now? I thought you had a thing for Naruto."

"I-I-I d-d-don't know what you're talking about!"

Kiba laughed. "You do have a thing for Gaara, don't you!"

Hinata blushed brightly. Did she have a thing for Gaara? She hardly knew him.

'He seems really kind though,' She thought, "Very kind. And very handsome too."

Kiba laughed again. "You've got that dreamy look on your face, Hinata. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. You kids have fun!"

Kiba continued his laughing as he walked off, leaving behind a blushing Hinata.

Hinata and Gaara's dinner was incredibly awkward that night. Hinata was acting even more shy than normal. She couldn't even look Gaara in the eye. This didn't go unnoticed by the young Kazekage.

"Is something troubling you, Hinata-san? You seem tense this evening."

"I-I-It's n-nothing, Gaara-sama," Hinata stammered with a blush.

The redhead didn't seem convinced.

"I-I-It's just…People are getting the wrong impression about us."

"What do you mean?"

"T-They… They think we are…a couple."

"A couple?"

Hinata nodded. She couldn't help but notice that the idea of being in a relationship with someone seemed to be a foreign concept to the young man in front of her.

"Kiba-kun teased me terribly for it."

"I apologies for the trouble I have caused you. If you no longer wish to be my guide here in Konoha, I will understand. I can ask Tsunade-sama for someone else."

"Oh! N-N-N-No, Gaara-sama! It's not like that at all! I enjoy showing you around Konoha! Kiba-kun just took things too far this afternoon. I had no intention of leaving you."

Gaara smiled slightly.

"I'm glad, Hinata-san. I still find social interaction to be somewhat of a challenge for me; however, I find it less challenging around you."

Hinata smiled, and blushed, at his words. She was happy he was comfortable around her.

"Gaara-sama, I'm very happy that you are more comfortable around me. Please feel free to call me by just my name. I don't feel that 'san' is necessary between us."

"Hinata…" he tested her name out. "If you are to be 'Hinata' to me, then allow me to be 'Gaara' to you."

Hinata smiled brightly.

Later, the pair found themselves sitting on the roof of the Hokage tower. Hinata was pointing out the different places they could see.

"And that's the academy over there. Over there is the training grounds were we all took the chunin exams together. And those are all the Hokages Konoha's ever had. And over there's the Hyuga compound. That's where I live."

Hinata was a lot more relaxed now then she was at the start of dinner. There was a comfortable atmosphere between her and Gaara now that she'd been honest about what'd happened. She still found herself blushing whenever she thought about the fact that they were alone on a roof surrounded by the starlit sky. It seemed like such a romantic setting.

She turned to face her companion. He was staring at her with a soft look in his eye.

"What is it, Gaara?"

"Hmm?"

"You were staring at me."

He paused for a moment, contemplating what to say. "I was staring because…you look very nice in the moonlight."

Hinata blushed brightly, causing Gaara to smile softly.

He motioned for her to sit next to him, which she did. She sat close to him, trying to keep warm in the cool night air.

"Gaara, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"What made you decide to become Kazekage?"

"I wanted to be someone precious to my village. I spent most of my life being an object of fear and terror. I decided I didn't want that anymore. I wanted to be a part of my village. I wanted to connect to the people of Suna. Before I met Naruto, my ties to others brought only pain and sorrow. But Naruto pushed me to change that. He taught me that i could share my suffering and sadness and joy with other people. I didn't have to keep it to myself. He taught me that I could change the path my life would follow. I wanted to be something precious to other."

Hinata smiled. "You are precious to people, Gaara."

The two were growing closer without either realizing it. Hinata rested her hand on Gaara's. He caressed her cheek and brushed away the hairs that fell in her face. The two shared what would be the first of many kisses.

Present

Hinata sighed thinking about that first kissed she and Gaara had shared. After an evening of kissing and holding each other, Hinata had fallen asleep in Gaara's arms. He'd brought her back home the next morning and formally asked her father for permission to court her. Her father, not being able to deny a Kage, gave his blessing to the relationship. Gaara had spent his every free moment with Hinata for the rest of his visit to Konoha.

Gaara's departure had been hard on Hinata—although her father was thrilled to no longer worry about the couple taking their relationship too far too soon—but the young lovers made their long distance relationship work. They hadn't seen each other in the three months since the start of their relationship, but they sent love letters to each other weekly. Neither doubted the other's feelings, even though the exact words had yet to be said.

Now it was Hinata's turn to write a letter. And she had great news to share.